$300,000 worth of Hynix DDR RAM modules hijacked

It seems the traditional method of acquiring goods -- you know, that "money for product" approach we've been testing out for centuries -- is going to the wayside quite often these days, as yet another major heist has gone down in Taiwan. Twenty boxes of Hynix Semiconductor DDR RAM modules were stolen yesterday, as a trio of assailants reportedly used a machete and stun gun to threaten the driver. The hijacking is likely a planned, organized move, as reports say that the thieves were seen headed to the airport, where they probably hopped a flight to China. Interestingly, it was stated that "ownership of the chips is still unknown," a fact that's sure to make insurance companies drool, considering the $306,000 of missing goods that somebody is going to be out for. Incidents like this do wonders in making those $169 GPS / RFID adornments seem fairly inexpensive, eh?

[Via Inquirer]

[StevO @ Dec 30th 2006 1:56AM]

you think that maybe with all the stolen things recently (massive PS3, CPU silicon and now this), an underground crime net is trying to piece together a supercomputer to take over the world?

haha. not really serious, but just a funny thought.

[aiken @ Dec 30th 2006 2:26AM]

I think you meant "sweat" rather than "drool". Drool implies something that you want, and insurance companies are generally against theft.

Speaking of which, I can only envy the Engadget editor who has just discovered that some people *steal* things. I know, it's shocking and hard to believe, but this really isn't some shocking new development in culture and commerce.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Dec 30th 2006 3:19AM]

Those chips should be marked and tracing them should not proved to be too difficult.

[AndrewNeo @ Dec 30th 2006 3:32AM]

All RAM should have a serial number and a manufacturing date, and can be accessed with a program like CPU-z. (http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php) So they should be able to track them down some way or another.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Dec 30th 2006 3:37AM]

CPUz gets it's tracking information from the SPD chip on a finished DIMM.

The theves did not steal finished DIMMs, they got away with just one part of a DIMM: the BGA/TSOP chips them selves in bulk form (think of a bucket of microchips). The markings for them including the day, week, and year of manufacture should be printed on the surface of each BGA module. But my experience also tells me that with the right tools, wiping them free of their markings is not a tough thing to do (that's if you have the knowledge).

[Tech^Cellfish @ Dec 30th 2006 8:40AM]

Remarking chips is often done in China. People remember the remarked Pentium 1 chips that where common in the 90's? They still do it, some even remark older chips and sell them to CPU / chip collectors.

The price is about 20cent pr.chip to relabel old white cheramic chips. Don't know how much the chineese take to relabel stolen modern ddr chips. But the factories are definitively ready to do this if the thiefs want it done.

[dimitri @ Dec 30th 2006 8:20AM]

If only someone would do this with FBDIMMs, then some of us mac pro users wouldnt have to re-mortgage the house just to buy a couple of gigs.

[tekdroid @ Dec 30th 2006 4:45PM]

how long before the drivers of these vehicles are fully armed and/or drive with security personnel?